The Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist has been announced today. The 16 titles are:

H(A)PPY by Nicola BarkerThe Idiot by Elif BatumanThree Things About Elsie by Joanna CannonMiss Burma by Charmaine CraigManhattan Beach by Jennifer EganThe Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes GowarSight by Jessie GreengrassEleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail HoneymanWhen I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife by Meena KandasamyElmet by Fiona MozleyThe Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati RoySee What I Have Done by Sarah SchmidtA Boy in Winter by Rachel SeiffertHome Fire by Kamila ShamsieThe Trick to Time by Kit de WaalSing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Of the 13 books I mentioned in my predictions post last Sunday, five are on the longlist which is a pretty good result, two of which I have read. I am particularly keen to read ‘Sight’ and ‘Sing, Unburied, Sing’ based on the unanimously positive reviews I have read. Once again, I’m surprised that Ali Smith isn’t on the longlist but she may well receive recognition elsewhere this year and we can never be certain which books have been submitted or called in for consideration (I find it hard to believe that ‘Winter’ wasn’t, though).

There are six debuts on the longlist and I am pleased to see Imogen Hermes Gowar and Fiona Mozley on there. However, interestingly, the less well-known books are not debuts this time. ‘Miss Burma’ is Charmaine Craig’s second novel based on the experiences of her mother and grandparents in 1940s Burma while ‘When I Hit You’ by Meena Kandasamy has received critical acclaim for its powerful portrayal of marriage and domestic violence. And congratulations to Nicola Barker who has been longlisted for the first time for her twelfth novel ‘H(A)PPY’. I included ‘H(A)PPY’ in my Man Booker Prize longlist predictions last year as Barker has been shortlisted for that prize in the past, but didn’t think to include it in my Women’s Prize predictions.

The shortlist will be announced on 23rd April. Which books on the longlist do you recommend and which ones do you want to read?

10 responses to “The Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist 2018”

Not at al a fan of the list. IT doesn’t interest me very much. however I’ll be reading Home Fire, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, and Elmet. These 3 have been on my TBR so I’m keeping them. Not sure about reading anything else beside When I Hit You. The rest of the list is Meh! I’ve already read Sing, Unburied, Sing but didn’t find it to extraordinary. It was good but not great. The last third of the novel doesn’t come together very well at all and the book left me flat. I gave it 3 stars mostly because of her excellent writing. I’m anxious to get to Salvage the Bones. Good luck on your Women’s Prize reading

I’ve got quite a few of these in the TBR stack (Batuman, Egan, Shamsie, Ward) but have only read one – See What I Have Done, which I wasn’t a huge fan of.
I’ll probably wait until the shortlist is announced before tackling any (it overlaps with my Stella Prize reading – too many prizes! Too much good reading to be done!).

I listened to the Eleanor Oliphant on the radio, I really hate to be disparaging, but it’s one of those books that automatically flags up “middlebrow” with me, by which I mean that many people find it meaningful and moving, while I find it well intentioned but ultimately shallow.
I liked H(A)PPY, thought it was inventive and memorable.